Matcha Club Privacy Policy
Last updated: 6 October 2026
Matcha Club ("we", "us") is a matcha journal and discovery app. This policy explains what information the app uses, where it goes, and the choices you have.
The short version
- Your journal (cups you log, notes, ratings, photos and saved spots) stays on your iPhone and, if you use iCloud, in your private iCloud. We can't see it.
- There are no accounts. We never ask for your name or email address.
- Powder scores, post suggestions and reports you choose to send are anonymous.
- Anonymous usage data (which features get used) helps us improve the app. You can turn it off in Profile.
- We don't sell your data, show ads, or track you across other companies' apps and websites.
Your journal and iCloud
Journal entries, photos, notes, ratings, saved places and app preferences are stored on your device. If you're signed in to iCloud, the app syncs them to your private iCloud database (Apple CloudKit) so they're backed up and available on your other devices. Apple stores this under your Apple Account; Matcha Club has no access to it.
You can turn off iCloud for Matcha Club in Settings › [your name] › iCloud, and delete the iCloud copy in Settings › [your name] › iCloud › Manage Account Storage › Matcha Club.
What you choose to send to the Club
You can choose to send:
- a score for a home powder, which counts towards that powder's community score;
- a TikTok or Instagram post to suggest for the Discover creator feed, which we review before it appears;
- a report about a post in the feed.
These are anonymous. The app sends only what each one needs: the powder and your score; the post link, its public caption and creator, and the café it features; or the post you're reporting. Scores and reports also carry a code made on your phone, so we can count one score per powder (and one report per post) from each phone. The code can't identify you or link your scores together, and we don't receive your name, email address or a device identifier.
Anonymous usage data
To see which features help and where people get stuck, the app sends anonymous usage data to PostHog. It covers:
- the screens you open;
- actions such as logging a cup, running a search or unlocking a stamp, described only by counts and categories (for example hot or iced, or how many add-ons);
- the app version, device model and iOS version;
- a random code made on your phone, so we can see how use changes over time.
It never includes your journal, café names, notes, photos, the words you search for, links or your location, and your IP address isn't stored. We use it because we have a legitimate interest in improving the app, and it's easy to stop: turn off Profile › Privacy & Support › Anonymous usage data. Nothing more is sent after that.
Location
With your permission, the app uses your location while it's open to find matcha places near you and show distances. Your location and searches go to Google Maps Platform to run the search (passing through our server), and to Apple to name the area you're browsing. Our server keeps only a rough area, rounded to about 5 km, with its name and the date, so we can look for creator posts where people are using the app. It's never linked to you or your device, and it's deleted after 30 days. We don't store your exact location. You can change this at any time in Settings › Matcha Club › Location.
Photos
Photos you add to journal entries stay in the app on your device (and in your iCloud if sync is on). The app only sees photos you pick, including screenshots or videos you add when importing a post, which are read on your phone and not uploaded. If you choose to save a share card, the app adds that image to your photo library.
Services we use
- Apple — iCloud journal sync and area names for map locations.
- Supabase — community scores, post suggestions and reports, the creator feed, article suggestions, and passing place searches on to Google, on servers in London, UK.
- Google Maps Platform — maps, place search, and place photos and reviews. Your searches and location are sent to Google to run them. Google's software in the app also collects diagnostic and usage information — such as crash and performance data, approximate location, searches and a device identifier — to provide and improve its services (see Google's privacy policy).
- PostHog — anonymous usage data (see above), stored in the United States under the UK–US data bridge and the EU–US Data Privacy Framework.
- TikTok and Instagram — when you import or view a post, the app loads that public post's details from them.
- Web search — our server may look up articles and creator posts for the general areas where people use the app.
None of these services receive your journal.
Keeping and deleting your information
- To withdraw a powder score, turn off "Share rating with the Club" on that entry or delete the entry; the app withdraws its score.
- Suggestions and reports aren't linked to you, so we can't look them up by person. To have a suggested post removed, email us its link.
- Deleting the app removes the journal from your device. The iCloud copy stays until you delete it in your iCloud settings.
- Our hosting providers keep routine server logs for a short period before deleting them.
Children
Matcha Club isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their personal information.
Your rights
Depending on where you live (including the UK and EU), you can ask us to access, correct, export or delete your personal information, or object to how we use it, by emailing hello@jotapps.com. You can also complain to your data protection authority — in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).
Changes
If the app's data practices change, we'll update this policy and the date above.